How to get a building permit in 2025, and what will the spatial-planning reform change?

A concrete-prefab house grows at a pace that traditional builders can only dream of. Official procedures, though, are a different story – for both technologies, time moves at the same pace, governed by the same official rules, and decisions and approvals can drag on for months. On top of that, there's a coming change: from July 2026, municipal general plans (POG) will come into force, radically limiting the possibility of building on many plots. That's why the end of 2025 is a moment to act strategically.

When do you need a building permit, and when is a notification up to 70 m² enough?

In 2025, two procedures apply. A building permit covers the vast majority of investments – every house with a footprint larger than 70 m². It's a formal process in which the authority reviews the design and issues a decision, and the investor has to appoint a site manager and keep a construction log. The simplified notification procedure has been available since 2022 for houses with up to 70 m² of footprint – you just submit the design along with declarations, the authority has 21 days to object, and responsibility for managing the build shifts to the investor. There's an additional limit: only one such building is allowed per 500 m² of plot.

Documents needed for a building permit

No one goes through this procedure alone – you need an architect, to prepare a full design or adapt a ready-made one so it complies with the plot's conditions and local regulations. A complete application includes:

• the PB-1 building-permit application form,
• the PB-5 declaration of the right to use the property for construction purposes,
• an excerpt and extract from the local zoning plan (if one is in force) or a zoning-conditions decision,
• the building design: the site development plan, the architectural-construction design, and the technical design,
• sector approvals: connection conditions (power, water, sewage, gas), and – if the plot is agricultural – a decision excluding it from agricultural use; plus, where relevant, heritage-conservation or environmental opinions.

The procedure – deadlines and costs

The authority accepts the documents, checks they're complete, reviews the design for legal compliance and issues a decision. There are then 14 days left for the parties to appeal before the permit becomes final. On paper, the whole process should take 65 days from submitting a complete application, but in practice – with formal gaps, follow-up requests and waiting for approvals – the procedure usually takes two to three months, and up to half a year if zoning conditions also need to be obtained.

The building permit itself for a single-family house for residential purposes is free of charge. A symbolic 17 zł is only payable for a power of attorney. The real costs are the preparatory ones: the building design, surveying maps, site staking-out, sector approvals, or a decision excluding the land from agricultural use.

1. 01Application and planning basis

   The PB-1 form and the PB-5 declaration, plus an excerpt from the local zoning plan or a zoning-conditions decision.

2. 02Complete building design
3. 03Sector approvals
4. 04Application review
5. 0514 days to become final

The most common mistakes investors make

Most delays come not from “difficult officials”, but from small oversights. The most common are: an incomplete application (every request to complete missing items stops the clock); a design that doesn't comply with the local zoning plan or zoning conditions (e.g. roof pitch, height, building placement); no decision excluding agricultural land from agricultural use where the plot is farmland; and starting construction before the decision becomes final.

A permit only becomes final 14 days after it's served on all the parties – starting work earlier counts as unauthorized construction. If you want to shorten the wait, you can get all the parties to waive their right to appeal; the decision then becomes final immediately (common when the investor is the only party).

Municipal general plans – what will change in 2026?

From 1 July 2026, every municipality will have to adopt a General Municipal Plan (POG) – a document with the standing of local law, binding on investors too. Until now, where no local zoning plan existed, you could apply for zoning conditions based on the “good neighbourhood” principle, which often saved investors on agricultural plots. Once the POG is introduced, zoning conditions will only be obtainable in areas designated as development-infill zones; the remaining areas, including a large share of farmland, will be excluded from development altogether.

The validity of zoning-conditions decisions will also change: today they're issued without a time limit, but from July 2026 they'll be valid for a maximum of 5 years. There's an exception for investors who act in time – zoning conditions issued and made final before the new rules take effect will keep their unlimited validity. 2025 is the last chance to secure the right to build under the current, more flexible rules.

We handle the paperwork for you

At MABUDO, we take the building-permit paperwork off your hands. At the start of the cooperation you hand over the basic documents – maps, a zoning-conditions decision or an excerpt from the local zoning plan, geotechnical surveys and declarations; if something's missing, we help you obtain it. We prepare the application, adapt the design to the plot, coordinate the sector approvals, and file the complete set of documents electronically as your representative, tracking the deadlines all the way to a final decision. That gives you time and peace of mind, and your dream house grows in front of your eyes within a few months.